This is set of miniatures by Manuel Blancafort composed between 1915-1919. One day a couple months ago, I heard on my radio some piano music and I recognized the melody and immediately thought it was Mompou. After a moment, and listening more carefully, I realized that it was Mompou's melody, but different harmonies than in the piece I thought it was. Turned out, it was by Manuel Blancafort and he used the same folk tune as Mompou did in one of his Cancions and Danzas. I'm not sure which composer 'borrowed' the folk tune first, but it was fun for me to listen to the different choices of harmonies each composed used, and then I also knew that I wanted to actually get the music for Blancafort's version. Took awhile to get the book mailed to me, but I finally received it. To anyone else interested in Mompou, besides the last piece in this set which uses the same folk tune, I hear a lot of similarities between the piece, "Birds in April's Sky", and Mompou's "Jeunes filles au jardin" (Girls in the Garden).

Another tidbit--Mompou and Blancafort were part of a group of Catalan composers who joined together in 1920 and founded Asociación de Compositores Independientes de Catalunya. The members of this group wanted to create new Catalan music that although more modern in character was still deeply rooted in the musical heritage of the area. Mompou and Blancafort were the two most prominent characters and in many ways shared similar views on music.

I had a listen to this interesting set, and some really have an appeal. These are not what you typically expect of 20th century piano lit relics! These are new to be but perhaps in a way they are not as I agree, he does sound similar to Mompou. I like how you balance the RH with the LH in the Moon Shines. I downloaded three titles that caught my fancy: Moon Shines, When Autumn Comes and Childhood Memory" Look forward to listening to the rest of them!

_________________"I don't know what music is, but I know it when I hear it." - Alan SchuylerRiley Tucker

Thank you for listening! The Moon Shines piece is probably my favorite one. But having to play so lightly in the LH and bring out the melody clearly in the RH is something I have to work hard on. I'm glad you think it came out ok here.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

Yes, a very nice addition to the site.My favorite was #3 ("Lament"). I heard it first without knowing the title, and thought the tempo was right on. After seeing the title, I thought perhaps it was too fast, but may Blancafort just got the title wrong

Thank you, Stu. I think a piece with that title would go slower too. I just played it faster because I heard another recording of it like that. Sometimes I think I should not first listen to other recordings so that I play according to my own understanding/interpretation. But then there have been many times when I've been embarrassed by "my" version because it was so against the norm, which I learned after listening to other recordings.

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

A set of cute and pleasant melodies, lovingly and very elegantly played. Great shaping of the melody lines, and enviable consistent control of the balance of hands and voices. Thanks for posting!

They do get a bit repetitive, but I think that's OK, it's part of the folk music idiom. But in a suite this long I miss some element of drama. Either my speakers are wrong or there are no fortes. Perhaps there is room for none in this music.

A set of cute and pleasant melodies, lovingly and very elegantly played. Great shaping of the melody lines, and enviable consistent control of the balance of hands and voices. Thanks for posting!

Thank you for listening!

troglodyte wrote:

Either my speakers are wrong or there are no fortes. Perhaps there is room for none in this music.

This worries me a little. Only one of the pieces has a forte marked. It's the no. 7 "Birds in April's Sky". There are fortes marked at the opening triplets and also when they repeat later on. I thought I played louder on those spots. Now I wonder if I'm just imaging that I did...

_________________"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." ~ Frederic Chopin

I listened to most of these colorful pieces. The one that I liked best was "The Moon Shines", as the music is very evocative, as is your playing. Sometimes the musical texture seems a bit sparse, but yet it's always sufficient to convey the mood, scene or activity. Very nice playing, Monica.

David

_________________"Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities." David April

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: TurnitinBot [Bot] and 1 guest

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum